JEFFS GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Account taken from THE HOME PAPER in February, 1937

Mr. and Mrs. George Henry Jeffs of Ucon will observe their golden wedding anniversary on Saturday at their home. Because of the weather conditions, the dinner and open house which was planned will be held at a later date.

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffs came to Ucon October 7, 1892, and have made their home here since that time. Mr. Jeffs was born in Two Waters, England, December 28, 1864¹, the son of Joseph and Matilda Bateman Jeffs². He was baptized into the L. D. S. church when he was eight years of age and came to Utah [hand-corrected as "set sail for U.S.A."] on June 4, 1882. After leaving Salt Lake he farmed with his uncle at Buttlerville County, at which location he met his wife.

Annie Groom Jeffs was born in Chilton Green³, England on March 7, 1866 and was the daughter of Nathan Groom and Emma Hill Groom. In her early days her family moved to Ireland where they resided for 18 months. They moved to a little village called Ellenbrook and there she was baptized into the L. D. S. church. When she was 19 years of age she came to Utah⁴ and went to Buttlerville, where her parents lived. She later moved with her family to South Cottonwood and on February 6, 1887 she was married to Mr. Jeffs at Buttlerville. Mr. Jeffs was engaged in farming until he left for Idaho Falls on October 7, 1892. Idaho Falls, then known as Eagle Rock, consisted of one main street, with the railroad track running down the center. Mrs. Jeffs and her three small children came by train to Idaho and Mr. Jeffs, Bishop Robert Andrus and his brother, Heber Andrus, and Henry W. Groom came by team. It took them one week to make the trip.

In Idaho Mr. Jeffs was engaged in farming,at which occupation he was engaged for 20 years, two years of which were spent in Garfield. They later bought a home in Ucon and have lived there for the past 21 years.

They are the parents of 10 children, eight of whom are living. They are Mrs. Florence Peterson, Terreton; Mrs. Emma Danielson, Idaho Falls; Mrs. Mable Peterson, Garfield, Mr. Henry Jeffs, Rigby; Mrs. Edith Finn, Rigby; Mrs. Ida M. Maynard, Billings, Montana; Mrs. Gladys Hill, Ucon; and Mrs. Dora Lund, Pocatello. Forty grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren are also living.

Notes:
1.  The certified birth record from the British General Records Office lists his birth date as 28 December 1863 and his name as George Henry Ryon.  Mary Bateman is listed as his mother, but no father is listed.  This conflicts with all records afterward, including this document, which say he was born in 1864.  The birth record is certainly true and the error in the birth year may have crept in when George was adopted by the Jeffs.
2.  George was adopted by Joseph and Matilda Jeffs.  His mother was probably Matilda's cousin Mary Batemen, born 20 May 1839 to Caroline Bateman, who is Matilda's father's younger sister.
3.  The place is Chiltern Green, Bedfordshire, England.  The 1871 census lists her place of birth as Luton, which is about 3 miles from Chiltern Green.
4.  Annie probably came to the United States aboard the ship "Nevada", which arrived in New York on June 1, 1886.  The ship's manifest lists this entry:  "Annie Groous [maybe Grooms], 20, F, Spinster, England".  I believe that this is the correct record, even with the possibly incorrect last name.  Her life history states that she came a year after her mother, left Liverpool in early or mid May, and arrived in New York.  Her mother arrived in May 1885 and we know that Annie was married in February 1887, so she had to have left England in May 1886.

Revisions:
1997, December 26:  Scanned and transcribed from a typewritten souce by Matt Young. Spelling and punctuation are original.
2008, May:  Added notes 1, 2, and 3.